Cyber Graf?

From this week's New Yorker:

"The graffitist's impulse is akin to a blogger's: write some stuff, quickly, which people may or may not read. Both mediums demands wit and nimbleness. They arouse many of the same fears about the lowering of the public discourse and the taking of undeserved liberties."

Thought it deserved quoting here. It comes from a profile on the British graffiti artist Banksy (the featured work was done on a security fence in the West Bank).

On and Crackin'!

As always, Hip Hapa is proud to bring to our readers' attention the newest and hottest artists on the scene today...


First up is a reminder that our tomodachi Pesu will be holding it down tomorrow on MTV. Be sure to watch, support and VOTE as Pesu steps out onto the national stage to show off the talent we been knowin' about for years! Gambatte yo!

And for those of you in need of some of that classic Southern California sound checkout Vers Brown's new mixtape Fresh Air: Vol. 1.

Art from a Multiracial Perspective

Hip Hapa has been informed that this is something our readers might like to know about:

Join Kearny Street Workshop and the Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center for the opening reception of a new visual exhibition, Post ID: identity-infused art for a post-identity world. Featuring work by artists Jenifer Wofford, Mark Baugh-Sasaki, Nancy Mizuno Elliott, Richard Godinez, and Sita Bhaumik, this new exhibition explores the nature of identity and hybridity in a range of media and genres, and from multiple multiracial perspectives. In a world that often seems to wish itself to be "beyond race," Post ID invites you to consider the more complicated and intriguing realities. This exhibit runs May 3-26, 2007, at SomArts Cultural Center.

Opening reception: Thursday, May 3, 2007, 5-8pm
Location: SomArts Cultural Center, 934 Brannan Street, San Francisco
Gallery Hours: Tuesday through Friday, 2-7pm; Saturdays 1-5pm

For more details, contact Kearny Street Workshop at info(AT)kearnystreet(DOT)org or 415.503.0520, or APICC at info(AT)apiculturalcenter(DOT)org or 415.864.4120.

Vote or Die!

No... this is not about Diddy trying to get you politically involved. This isn't about Obama, Clinton or the likes. This is about you, the Hip Hapa readers, exercising your right to support our 'ol boy PESU on MTV's TRL! Pesu will be reppin' the Old Souls and Hip Hapa families from Times Square in New York City in a live Art Battle to be aired May 4th. Watch, root, and VOTE for Pesu.

- MTV ArtBattle - This event features some of the most impressive artists/individuals that NYC has to offer. The artists will have an hour and a half to express their hunger to the world in a 360 degree MTV event. The artwork will be featured in the heart of times square where each artist will have their work from the event shown at 13' x 9' with clippings of the event on the huge MTV TV across the street. TRL will hype the event by pointing the viewers to MTV overdrive to watch the event and the day in the life of the artists. The cell phone and Internet votes will depict the winner of the event, who will be rewarded added publicity as well as a nice cash prize. The event will be the most explosive art show ever with special guest judge’s hosts and a few local bands that will maintain the authenticity of the Art battles. Each artist is extremely dynamic hungry for the opportunity to show the world their skills.

Extra: Instead of doing a separate post on top of this one, I thought that--seeing as how this fits in with the intro and title Mix76 used--I'd just add in down here that the Democrats are debating tonight (Thursday) on MSNBC from 7:00-8:30pm Eastern Time.

-OG

Your Shot at Fame & Fortune

Heard on the Hapa Hotline:

Mixed Up Productions is currently accepting submissions of written and visual works for an anthology by and about mixed race Asian and Pacific Islander artists.

The project began as a trilogy of limited edition "Hapa" chapbooks: "Mixed Up" (2000), "Too Mixed Up" (2000), and "All Mixed Up" (2006). Currently, public readings, film screenings, and other events are taking place throughout Canada and the U.S. for the final chapbook. Entirely handcrafted, each individual chapbook is unique in its cover design.

The forthcoming anthology will include contributions from all three chapbooks, as well as a fourth section on new, unpublished works. In the tradition of the original chapbooks, the anthology will contain a wide range of works spanning poetry, short stories, monologues,
performance art, visual art, scholarly essays, activist statements, and photography.

Specifications

You may submit as many pieces as you wish; however, total word count for text should not exceed 2,500. Please submit photographs/images as jpeg or tiff format. Although images will be printed in black and white, please submit color images (if available).

To submit

Only electronic submissions are accepted. Please send your name, contact information, and a one-paragraph bio with your submission(s) to:

mixedupbooksATgmailDOTcom

Editors James Lawrence Ardeña and Brandy Liên Worrall will make final selections. The deadline for submissions is April 30, 2007.

Hapas Are So Photogenic

I feel sorta bad that it took me this long, since I walk past this every day on my way to work, but better late than never.


This exhibit has been at Oakland's Front Gallery since early February, and will continue to be on display through March 27. I ventured inside last week for First Fridays, and as one might guess, it's a bunch of pictures of half Asian people. You can check out the artists' website; it actually offers more images than are currently featured at the gallery.

And yeah, my initial thought was that it had sort of been done before, too, but I guess these guys have been at it since 2001.

Life is Art

For those of you who will be in New York City this summer be sure and check out the work of Japanese artist Pesu at ZAKKA. Pesu is a one of a kind graffiti artist that has developed his own signature style that is a must see for all you hip hop heads out there. The exhibit "Life is Art" will open on July 14th and run through August 6th. Opening night festivities will include music by DJ Monchan and live painting by Pesu himself.

And if you still cannot get enough of Pesu head over to The Madison Loft on July 1st and watch him rip the mic along side Mr. Metaphor at The Declaration of International Hip Hop.